The kids go to Canada so we don’t have to

Terrific daughter Elisabeth sent an international text. She and fiance George Three had crossed the border and stopped in Niagara Falls. Money had been exchanged. Drinks were being enjoyed. Yes, George agreed, a Molson does taste better on the north side of the border. In enjoyed all this immensely from my New York living room.

Chalk it up to individuality

At the edge of the Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival sat Chalk Jam. All the hard-working, creative artists I asked said yet to my photo requests. I’m rooting for no rain for a bit to keep these pieces intact. This helps Syracuse stand out. International flavor. Amazing sidewalk pieces.

We’ll take a sunflower imprint

Nearing the end of our Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival stroll, my dear wife Karen and I were excited to come upon the artisan who sold us the piece we purchased for our backyard bird bath. This year we brought home a concrete piece imprinted with sunflowers. How lovely for our backyard. Again.

Keep the creativity going

I was excited to see the folks who put on the Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival set up a special spot for the new generation to practice their creativity, too. This helps ensure festivals in the decades to come.

Celebrating the rich basketball history

I finally got to see the downtown Syracuse basketball mural orchestrated by significant city impresario Frank Malfitano with my own two eyes. Magnificent. Dolph Schayes, Earl Lloyd Jr., Manny Breland and Breanna Stewart look as if they can reach out and touch you. That’s the way to span a city’s rich basketball history. Great six-story…

I’d eat there, oh, wait

At first blush, I thought the joint on the busy corner had another name change. Then I remembered it had closed and the spot was looking for a new restaurant to populate the space … In any case, the Turn Key could be a catchy name for an eatery, I think.

Room on your refrigerator?

I had to tell these two artist/crafters that they create really cool refrigerator magnets. Picky as I am, I did not buy. Our refrigerator is pretty full with destinations we visited further away from Central New York.

Way to go, Syracuse Poster Project

I was glad to see my former colleague at the big daily, Jim Emmons, hard at work in the booth for the Syracuse Poster Project, selling and the work and sharing the vision for the mission he started with determination and enthusiasm in 2001. It’s a great thing for the city. I spy Emmons around…